Monica Edinger's Blog, page 4

The Book That Made Natasha Tretheway What She is Today

I was fortunate enough to meet and work with former poet laureate Natasha Tretheway years ago when she was an artist-in-residence at my school, a memorable experience that has stayed with me ever since.  And so I was delighted today to see her in the current New York Times Book Review’s By the Book feature.  While all of it is worthwhile reading, one answer stood out for me as I might answer with the same book though from a different point of view.

If you had to name one book that made you w...

CLNE aka Children’s Literature New England

The wonderful entity known as CLNE has closed its doors. It was a very special and wonderful organization that impacted my life in major ways.

Starting in 1999 (relatively recent compared to those who were involved many, many years before me) I began attending the annual summer institute of Children’s Literature New England.  I hadn’t intended to make it an annual thing, but like many others, once I started I couldn’t stop.

The institutes were extraordinary.  They were sometimes in New Englan...

The NYTimes and NYPL Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2018

Thrilled to see this year’s list. Having been on the jury a few years ago I know how exciting it is for the list to be finally announced. A wonderful collection of titles — congratulations to all involved! You can see the full list with art here.

Just in Time for All Hallow’s Eve, A Q & A with Adam Gidwitz about Grimm, Grimmer, and Grimmest, a Delightfully Not-Too-Macabre Podcast

Adam Gidwitz, author of the wonderful A Tale Dark and Grimm series recently dropped a totally fantastic podcast series, Grimm, Grimmer, and Grimmest. Adam had told me it was in the works ages ago so I was excited to listen to it and was not disappointed. I’ve watched Adam tell stories to kids for ages and he is truly wonderful. And so is this podcast series as they’ve done a terrific job giving that same experience to listeners. The production is outstanding, heightening Adam’s unique and wi...

Bank Street College’s Book Fest 2018

Yesterday was the annual Bookfest at the Bank Street College of Education. It was, as always, inspiring and exciting. Congratulations to Cynthia Weill and all of those who work so hard to make it happen.

My part was to lead a discussion group on Heroic Activists. It was terrific — the participants had such insightful comments to make about all the books. Here are my blurb and the list of books we discussed:

Let’s sustain ourselves in this challenging time by exploring the work of some passion...

2019 Boston Globe – Horn Book Awards

It is official — I’m chairing the 2019 Boston Globe – Horn Book award committee, serving with Kim Parker of Shady Hill School and Cynthia Ritter of the Horn Book. So excited to get to work with my distinguished fellow judges.

Rick Riordan Presents: An Appreciation

I have long been an admirer of Rick Riordan.  After reading an ARC of The Lightning Thief and learning that the author was a middle school teacher, I checked him out and came across his comprehensive teacher’s guide for the book. (You can find it on this page.) Having also taught this content I was so impressed with his material — the lessons and more showed a sure understanding of the students he taught. And so I wrote him a letter expressing my admiration and appreciation and he wrote back....

Thinking About Rethinking Language

I found Jamie Naidoo‘s post on the ALSC blog, Words Matter: Owning and Learning from Our Mistakes, very thought-provoking. It is a model for apologizing, for reflecting, and more. I recommend reading the post, the comments, and adding in your own thoughts. Here are mine:

I was glad you called out the problem with the word “tolerance” as it has always bothered me. I’m a longtime subscriber to the excellent publication Teaching Tolerance, but the word has always rankled for the reasons you poin...

Mary Poppins Returns Official Trailer

Curious touches referencing the first movie given the improved CGI technologies of today. Only see bits here so looking forward to the full movie for that and much more, of course. I mean: Dick Van Dyke! Meryl Streep! Angela Lansbury! Lin Manuel Miranda! Colin Firth! I could go on and on.

Quentin Blake on Roald Dahl’s Matilda as a Grown-Up — Genius!

Now, Roald Dahl’s Matilda – the most powerful female genius ever to be underestimated by a hammer-throwing headmistress – has been portrayed for the first time as a 30-year-old woman in a series of eight sketches by Dahl’s long-time illustrator and friend Quentin Blake.

Go take a look here!